A few hours pass. Morning breaks over the sea, golden light with the crimson light spilling across the water as the coast of the Sacred Continent draws near.
Above the ship, Hideyo—the Spirit King—descends from the sky, his robes fluttering in the ocean breeze. Kanoru already senses the shoreline through his spiritual perception and begins to slow the vessel, bringing it down from its impossible pace to a steady drift.
Hideyo lands on the deck, face calm but serious. "There's construction happening along the coast," he says. "I also spotted Greyrose Circus forces moving away from the continent. What's strange is—no one's attacking them. Not even stopping them."
Kanoru's eyes narrow slightly. "A truce," he mutters. "Or at least something like it. I don't feel any battle fluctuations from Athia anymore, and the refugees fleeing from Athia and the five sacred continents… they're not being chased."
Hideyo nods. "Looks like both sides backed off for now."
He pauses, then speaks again, quieter. "Sir… I heard you have your own force here on the Sacred Continent. If it's possible… may I join?"
Kanoru turns to face him fully, eyes weighing the request. A Spirit King asking to join now?
"You're not already part of a major force?" Kanoru asks.
"I am," Hideyo says. "But it's small. Just me and two brothers who also reached the Spirit King Realm. With how things are going now, our combined strength isn't enough to guarantee survival anymore."
Kanoru says, "My force isn't exactly strong, either. Without me, no one else has reached Spirit King Realm yet. You still want to join?"
Hideyo smiles faintly. "That's fine. My brothers and I will protect your people. In return, you protect us."
What he doesn't say—though Kanoru can already guess—is that during the start of the journey across the ocean, when Kanoru did not join, Hideyo had been closely watching. From above the clouds, his spiritual sense never once left the battle when Kanoru fought the Skeleton Bird. He saw everything.
And what he saw left no doubts.
In a world where most Spirit Kings belonged to powerful alliances, Hideyo understood clearly: If the strength of people of their world is ranked, then with Kanoru's strength, he would be in the top ten. Just under the six councillors.
Aligning with him wasn't just survival—it was a step toward future power.
Kanoru gives a slow nod.
"Then welcome to my force."
He turns slightly, speaking calmly, "My force is currently based in the Black Hill region. Once you find your two brothers, bring them there and join me."
Hideyo nods without hesitation.
Kanoru glances across the ship's crowded deck. Dozens of cultivators stand or sit in scattered clusters—some nursing wounds, others simply resting. Most are in the Spirit Realm or lower, just like Hideyo had been before his breakthrough. They might approach him, ask to join. Not that it matters. He won't refuse, especially if they come through Meriko's circle. But if they wish to travel with him now, it would delay him for months before reaching Black Hill. And he doesn't want that.
His wives are waiting.
So, Kanoru makes a decision.
He sends a spiritual message, sharp and direct, to his sister and her family, calling only them to the deck.
He looks at Hideyo. "I'll be taking my sister and her family with me now. Once you dock somewhere, you can settle the rest."
Hideyo nods again. "Understood."
Moments later, Meriko steps onto the deck with her husband and children. "Brother," she says softly.
"Brother-in-law," her husband echoes, bowing slightly.
The two young ones smile and shout in unison, "Uncle!"
Kanoru gives a small nod. "You four are leaving with me now."
Meriko bites her lip, then speaks hesitantly. "Brother… the others who came with us also want to be your followers."
"They can go to the Black Hill region if they want," Kanoru replies without pause. "Hideyo will guide them if they ask."
Then he adds, voice softening slightly, "Your two sisters-in-law are waiting for me. A full day has passed. They must be worried."
Meriko nods, understanding.
Kanoru raises his hand. Grey winds wrap around the four figures beside him, gentle but firm. They lift into the sky, rising steadily with him at the centre.
Then, without another word, Kanoru turns toward the east. In a flash, the wind carries them all, streaking through the sky, racing toward the Black Hill region.
He begins the journey in the morning, slicing through clouds and coiling winds. By evening, as the sun dips low and the ever-present glow of the blood moon bathes the world in crimson light, Kanoru and his family soar above a sprawling city nestled in the Black Hill region.
Flying above half the Sacred Continent to reach here, he observes signs of shifting tides. The Greyrose Circus army is withdrawing. No one pursues them.
Along the way, Kanoru encounters Spirit Lords and Spirit Kings. From them, he learns the truth.
A truce has been declared—for one month. Within that time, people from the other continents will be relocated to the Sacred Continent. The other three continents will be handed over to the Greyrose Circus.
It makes sense. The Greyrose forces are in a stronger position. The world's councillors, knowing this, must have agreed to the terms under pressure.
But what Kanoru can't understand is why the invaders proposed such a deal in the first place. With their momentum, the Greyrose Circus could have continued pressing the attack. Their chances of total victory were high.
Why give the world a break now?
That single decision might shift the future. The world's chances of survival are slim—but no longer zero.
Kanoru narrows his eyes. In direct confrontation, they cannot win. That's clear.
His gaze drifts upward to the blood moon—crimson, pulsing, and vast. The anchor. The root of their connection to this world. If they destroy it—if they even damage it—perhaps the Greyrose Circus would be forced to retreat.
Without that anchor, returning to the Nightmare World could become difficult. The blood moon doesn't need to be destroyed entirely. Even damage might be enough to ruin their plans.
His thoughts settle.
The blood moon must be damaged.
Then, with the winds gathering under his control, Kanoru begins descending. His sister and her family drift beside him, calm in the protective cocoon of his energy.
Only then, as the city rises to meet them, a small thought stirs in his mind.
Asuna's family.
Her father. Her uncle. Her third brother.
He had forgotten about them.
His spiritual sense hadn't picked them up in Entori. Not in the surrounding areas either.
He frowns slightly, then exhales.
For now, he'll reunite with his wives.
But Asuna's family... they are still missing.
Kanoru glances at his sister. "Sister, what happened to my father-in-law and the rest of Asuna's family? I didn't see them in Entori."
Meriko blinks, then says, "Oh! After our father passed, the lord decided to come to the Sacred Continent to join you all. Takenaka and the lord's brother agreed. They left together."
Kanoru nods slowly. If nothing happened to them during the invasion, they should be en route... and with the truce in place, they'll likely arrive within the month.
As they approach the city, he sees familiar figures waiting near the entrance. His wives and other high-level members of the family stand ready to welcome him.
Asuna, her two brothers, and her mother scan the air curiously. Their expressions shift when they notice who's missing.
Asuna's mother steps forward. "Where are Tsuki and Takenaka?"
Kanoru replies calmly, "Father-in-law and Takenaka weren't present in Entori. Even Master Junzo was absent."
Yun Feng frowns. "Did something happen to them?"
"Nothing happened," Kanoru says. "They left Entori two years ago, headed here. Now that there's a truce, if they weren't caught in the recent invasion, they should arrive within a month."
He bites his lip, realising he might have planted unnecessary worry.
Asuna's mother takes a sharp breath. "Then I'm going to find them—"
Before she can rise, Kanoru lifts his hand. He bends the spiritual energy around her, halting her flight.
"Mother-in-law, we don't know from where they'll enter the Sacred Continent. If we scatter now, we may miss them. They will come. They know we're here."
Others quickly step in, echoing his words and gently persuading her to stay. Before tension can rise again, a loud growl cuts through the air. Everyone turns toward little Aoi, who clutches her stomach, eyes wide.
Laughter breaks the mood.
They all head inside, leaving Kanoru, Asuna, Gu Mingzhu, and Meriko's family to settle in.
Later, after a warm meal and quiet reunion, Kanoru spends the night with his wives. The comfort of their presence calms his thoughts, if only briefly.
Morning arrives.
He wakes before dawn and enters his retreat chamber, sealing the room with a faint pulse of wind.
The war is paused for a month. Nothing more. That time must be used well.
He sits cross-legged and draws in a thread of grey energy, weaving it between his fingers. His mind focuses, tracing the subtle hum inside it.
There. A faint rhythm. A pulse beneath the silence.
Vibration.
He begins to comprehend it, sensing the trait within the grey energy. Not fire, wind, or water—this is different. This is the motion beneath all things. And it might be a key.
Kanoru closes his eyes. His aura fades.
In the stillness, only the faint breath of vibration remains.
Kanoru feels the vibration of wind elements in the air, most particles are vibrating at different frequencies. There are numerous wind particles even if he gives his lifetime, which is now greater than 200 years. He would not be able to count them.
He started comprehending the vibration in the wind elements. As time passes, day turns to night, and again turns to day, Kanoru is unaware. Kanoru feels he has discovered something incredible.
A few hours ago, 50 runes of the wind element formed in his spiritual space. He did not stop as he did not comprehend the vibration aspect of the wind element completely. As he comprehends the vibration aspect of the wind elements advances.
He discovers that the numerous wind elements are vibrations in all together 90 frequencies. The same number as the number of runes formed after fully comprehending an element from the world, without comprehending the alien energies.
This is a new discovery, he thinks, and tries to control the particles of the wind elements and easily control particles of the same 50 frequencies, but is unable to control the rest. He understands he can control 50 of them because his comprehension of the wind element also reaches 50 runes.
But he is not here to comprehend the wind element, only the vibration aspect, and leaving behind the new discovery, he continues to comprehend the vibration aspect.
He did not know how much day passed, but he fully comprehended the vibration aspect in the wind element, which also formed two more runes, raising the number of runes of the wind element to 51.
Now, to form Wind Chimes, alien energy by the grey energy, he has to comprehend the vibration aspect of Water elemental energy. And without wasting any time, he started comprehending the vibration aspect of Water element energy.
As he starts comprehending, he senses that the vibration aspect of Water element energy is in the inner layer. If his cultivation did not reach the spirit king realm and was at the spirit realm, then he would not be able to comprehend the vibration aspect.
As only a spirit lord and a higher realm can comprehend from the inner layer of an element. But all this does not matter to him as his cultivation realm is one level higher than the spirit lord realm, and he is a spirit king.
So, he, without paying attention to anything, starts to comprehend the vibration aspect of water element energy. He want as quickly as possible comprehend the vibration aspect then he would start comprehending the exploding aspect in fire and wind elemental energy.